Today, on Friendship Day, the actor talks about the unbreakable bond that he has with his childhood friends. And, he shares memories of his growing-up years with one of his closest friends, Rochak Kohli, who is also a music composer
Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; August 2, 2020)

From Chandigarh to Mumbai, and from radio and television to movies — Ayushmann Khurrana’s journey is undoubtedly a fascinating one. And through all these years, and the highs and lows that are part of it, the one thing that has been a constant in his journey are his good ol’ friends. In fact, for his buddies, he is still the young boy they would hang out with and not the star that he has turned into today. “I haven’t developed many new friendships over the years. I have childhood friends who are non-judgmental. They love and treat me just like they would before my stardom. For them, I am the same old Ayushmann and they keep me grounded by giving me honest feedback about my work. For instance, my friend Nishchay Trehan, we watched a lot of films together since childhood and he is very critical about my work, so I appreciate his opinion,” explains the actor.

On the occasion of Friendship Day, the actor takes time to thank his childhood friend, music composer Rochak Kohli. Ayushmann says, “I have known Rochak since eighth grade. We went to the same school, St John’s Boys School in Chandigarh. We became friends as soon as we discovered that both of us are crazily passionate about music. We shared the common talent of composing and writing songs, which was rare for students in the eighth grade.”

Talking about the bond they share, Rochak told Bombay Times, “I feel our friendship is like water. It’s essential, and it takes any mould. We have been friends for a long period of time, and like water, our friendship is pure. I guess paani is our favourite word, too, because Paani Da Rang was our first song together (laughs!).”

Rochak has fond memories of the time when they were new to Mumbai, where they came to pursue their dreams. He recollects, “It was a big deal for boys who have been born and brought up in a comfort zone in Chandigarh. It was a whole new window to the world, which we explored together.”

Rochak says, “In Mumbai, we used to travel in local trains, and at times, we had no money. In fact, we went to Goa without money and did odd jobs there to buy food. Looking back, I now cherish these memories, and I think that’s what brought us so close. We have been together through thick and thin. We married the girls we were dating since college, so the four of us are like a family now.”

Ayushmann shares some memories, and talks about an old picture clicked during their college days. The duo, along with a bunch of boys, flaunted their shaved heads for a college play. “I think we were getting ready for one of our performances in college (DAV College, Chandigarh). In this picture, we also have other friends — Kumar Saurav, Jaiveer Singh and Mayank Choudhary. We started this theatre group in college called Aaghaaz, and this play was called Kumaraswami, in which I was the lead character. All the boys went bald for it. Rochak and I have done a lot of plays together. In the first year, we were together in the Greek play Spartacus. In the second year, it was Kumaraswami, which is when the picture was clicked, and in the third year, we were part of Andha Yug, and my character’s name in it was Ashwathama.”

Ayushmann says that even today, he is in touch with his school friends. “In fact, Rochak and I have been in touch with our school and college friends, too. We are in touch with 40 other boys, who were part of our section in school. I think that’s what makes it easy for us to deal with the adversities,” he says.

Currently, Ayushmann and Rochak are in Chandigarh with their respective families. The actor is taking this opportunity to connect with his buddies. He signs off, saying, “We are keeping our meetings very minimal because of social distancing. At times, I just meet my buddies like Rochak or Nishchay or my theatre group friends like Gautam Sharma, Gurpreet Saini, Aviral Gupta and Charandeep Kalra.”


Ayushmann Khurrana and Rochak Kohli, along with their friends, had shaved their heads for a play during their college days